Sen. Ben Nelson Has Never Used an ATM?

That's what the Omaha World-Herald reports: as his colleague Tom Harkin tries to limit fees for using ATMS of banks other than one's own, Democratic Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska says he's unfamiliar with those fees, because he's never used such a machine:

The Nebraska Democrat pleaded ignorance when asked this week whether Congress should cap ATM fees. Nelson said that while he's no fan of unnecessary fees, he's unfamiliar with the charges.

"I've never used an ATM, so I don't know what the fees are," Nelson said, adding that he gets his cash from bank tellers, just not automatic ones. "It's true, I don't know how to use one.

"But I could learn how to do it just like I've . . . I swipe to get my own gas, buy groceries. I know about the holograms."

By "holograms," Nelson clarified that he meant the bar codes on products read by automatic scanners in the checkout lanes at stores such as Lowe's and Menard's.

"I go and get my own seating assignment on an airplane," Nelson said. "I mean, I'm not without some skills. I just haven't had the need to use an ATM."

Only in the U.S. Senate. Nelson is no crackpot, mind you. He is, as he says, not without some skills. He's reasonable and articulate. (Public-option supporters may disagree.) He's well versed on multiple issues. Nor is he particularly old, for a senator: he turned 69 earlier this week, and, while that doesn't make him a spring chicken, it's nothing compared, for instance, to the 92-year-old Robert Byrd. The man has just never had occasion to use an ATM.